Headlines - 25.04.2016

Mustafa on Serbian elections: Only votes collection in Kosovo (Kosovapress)

Prime Minister of Kosovo Isa Mustafa reiterated that votes cast for Serbian elections are only being collected in Kosovo and that there can be no talk of “classic” elections taking part in the territory of Kosovo. He said the OSCE would only collect the votes but that they would not be counted in Kosovo.

Selimi: Serbian elections did not violate Kosovo Constitution (RTK)

Kosovo’s acting Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi said in an interview for the public broadcaster that the Constitution of Kosovo has not been violated by the holding of Serbian elections as there were no officials from the Serbia’s Central Election Commission present at the polls and the whole operation was carried out by the OSCE.

Kosovo Serbs vote for Vucic (Zeri)

The paper reports on a front-page story that Kosovo Serbs who voted in Serbian parliamentary elections, massively voted for the list "Serbia wins - Aleksandar Vucic”. The paper also writes that Kosovo Minister for Administration and Local Government, Ljubomir Maric, secured the transportation of Roma community from southern Mitrovica to vote for Vucic.  One of the voters, Gazmend Bajrami, told the paper that he voted for Vucic because “for this service he received 30 euros.” Even northern mayors have called the citizens to vote for their better future, for Vucic. OSCE Mission in Kosovo spokesperson, Senad Sabovic, said there were no incidents during the voting process. According to him, around 40 thousand voters voted until the closing of polling stations. According to the Center for Free Elections and Democracy in Serbia, preliminary results show that the Serbian Progressive Party led by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, received the majority of votes, about 51.8%.

Opposition: Serbian elections, violation of Kosovo Constitution (dailies)

The opposition parties in Kosovo yesterday reacted against the holding of Serbian elections in Kosovo, saying such elections are a violation of Kosovo Constitution. The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), through a press statement said that Kosovo polls for parliamentary elections in Serbia are unacceptable. “This is a blow to the efforts for the integrity of the Serb minority in Kosovo's institutions,” reads the statement. While Vetevendosje Movement considers that with these elections Serbia is reconfirming its presence in Kosovo and that Kosovo is part of Serbia. “There is no doubt that the election of Serbia in Kosovo are in violation of the Constitution. The only elections that could take place in Kosovo are parliamentary and local elections of Kosovo,” Vetevendosje noted. In a statement, the Initiative for Kosovo (NISMA) said allowing Serbian elections to take place in Kosovo is unacceptable and a serious violation of the Kosovo Constitution. “This act is also in conflict to our country’s efforts to integrate the Serb minority into our institutions,” said the party.

Selimi bans entry to Kosovo for Serbian ministers (Zeri)

Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week did not allow Serbia’s Minister of Defence, Zoran Djordjevic to enter Kosovo territory. The paper also claims that acting Foreign Minister Petrit Selimi has already signed a ban prohibiting entrance to Kosovo for Serbian Minister of Defence and Police due to concealment of war crimes. In his decision, Selimi quoted reports by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the Helsinki Watch which have documented the sabotage that Serbia has made on trials for war crimes against Albanians.

Kuci: Government reshuffling should include both parties (Epoka e Re)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) deputy leader Hajredin Kuci said in an interview for the paper that the upcoming government reshuffling should include both partners of the ruling coalition, the PDK and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). According to him the responsibility and the credit for the governance belongs to both parties. He said that one party cannot take over the responsibility for the other one, and create the impression that one party is better and the other weaker. Muharrem Sfarqa, a member of the LDK chairmanship, said his party has yet to discuss the government reshuffling, but added that the fact that the post of the Deputy Prime Minister is vacant, “leaves space for other movements”.

Haradinaj: Border demarcation affects Kosovo (Epoka e Re)

The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj met with people from the Rugova region to discuss the border demarcation between Kosovo and Montenegro. Haradinaj posted a video on his Facebook page from the meeting. “I met with 300 men from Rugova, who were quite aggravated with the demarcation of the border with Montenegro,” Haradinaj said. He added that not a single person there considers that the border demarcation does not affect Kosovo and Rugova.

The Assembly is asleep (Koha)

The paper reports on its front page that this year the Kosovo Assembly has held 14 sessions less compared to the same period last year. Among the main reasons why the Assembly has not met for a long period of time are believed to be preparations for elections in the Democratic Party of Kosovo, frequent visits abroad by members of the Assembly Presidency and developments in the opposition camp.

Gerxhaliu: Over ten locations suspected for mortal remains (Epoka e Re)

The Director of the Forensics Department, Arsim Gerxhaliu, informed that digging for the missing persons at Kizevak, close to Rudnica, Serbia, will continue next week. Gerxhaliu added that over ten locations are suspected for mortal remains of Albanians missing since the latest war. “Locations are in Kosovo,” Gerxhaliu said. “In Serbia, we are discussing about three or four suspected locations that have to be checked.” He added that it is difficult to plan the dates when digging should start, due to the situation in the field. “The teams who deal with the issue, are planning on weekly bases,” Gerxhaliu said. More than 1600 people are considered missing from the latest war.